The video assistant referee (VAR) should only overturn on-field decisions when there has been a “clear and obvious” error, a leading international laws official said.
VAR has proved highly controversial since it was introduced in the English Premier League this season. A particular source of concern has revolved around offside calls.
The weekend saw Norwich City, Brighton & Hove Albion, Sheffield United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Crystal Palace all have goals disallowed by marginal VAR rulings amid doubts over whether the available technology is accurate enough to make such fractional calls.
Players and managers have also questioned whether the system should not be used to reverse an on-field decision that appears correct to the naked eye, a view that received support on Monday from the general secretary of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) — the ultimate lawmaking body.
Lukas Brud, while not addressing specific incidents in England, said IFAB guidance advises that VAR should only be used to correct clear errors, including offside.
“Clear and obvious still remains — it’s an important principle,” Brud said in comments reported by British media. “There should not be a lot of time spent to find something marginal. If you spend minutes trying to identify whether it is offside or not, then it’s not clear and obvious, and the original decision should stand.”
Wolves captain Conor Coady was frustrated when his side were denied what seemed a legitimate equalizer just before halftime against runaway league leaders Liverpool on Sunday when Pedro Neto’s effort was chalked off because Jonny was deemed to be offside in the buildup.
Wolves eventually lost 1-0 at Anfield and Coady told the BBC: “A lot of people are going to tell me that they have come to the right decision and they might have, but what is it, an armpit that’s offside, or a toe, or something like that?”
Meanwhile, Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder was annoyed after VAR denied his side a goal against champions Manchester City — the fifth time it has happened to the Blades this season.
“Yet again we had another goal disallowed by VAR,” Wilder said. “That’s about eight or nine over the weekend, this is not a situation helping the game.”
Even Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, whose side won 2-0, said that VAR is “a big mess.”
“Hopefully, next season it can do better,” the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss added.
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